RELEASE: Crites Best-Suited to Lead State's Top Law Enforcement Office

Release:

Columbus – Mike Crites , Republican candidate for Ohio Attorney General, today stressed that he is the most qualified candidate to lead the Attorney General’s office as it recovers from scandal and corruption caused by disgraced former Attorney General Marc Dann. Crites’ comments follow a statement in [yesterday]’s Columbus Dispatch from current Attorney General Nancy Rogers that the office “has become a law-enforcement office again.”

“It’s no surprise that Attorney General Nancy Rogers is beginning to put the office back on the right track,” Crites said. “Unfortunately, it will take far longer to repair the damage to the public trust and the lingering effects on office morale caused by disgraced former attorney General Marc Dann. The state’s top law enforcement office needs the leadership of someone with true law enforcement experience.”

Current ongoing investigations spawned by the Dann scandal are likely to far outlast the few short months of Attorney General Rogers’ administration, making it impossible to fully address the impact of the scandal. Just Friday, the Columbus Dispatch reported that the Secretary of State told Dann must repay more than $40,000 for illegally using campaign funds to make home improvements.

Crites says he continues to hear frequent stories of Attorney General personnel who are embarrassed to admit they work at the office.

Crites’ experience makes him far more qualified than his opponent Richard Cordray to lead the state’s top law enforcement office. He brings more than 21 years as a prosecutor at the local, state and federal levels and more than two decades of service to his country in the U.S. Navy and Navy Reserves, where at his most recent post he helped command more than 7,300 personnel.

In comparison, Richard Cordray has never been a prosecutor. Cordray is on the public record saying that his office – the State Treasurer’s office – is the smallest office in state government with roughly 150 employees. The attorney General’s office is nearly 10 times that size with approximately 1,500 employees.

Currently the managing partner of a Columbus law firm, Crites served 21 years as a prosecutor at the local, state and federal levels including serving as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio. He has more experience as a prosecutor than the last seven Ohio Attorneys General combined.

During Crites’ tenure as U.S. Attorney, he and his staff successfully investigated, prosecuted and dismantled numerous local, national and international drug organizations; seized and obtained the forfeiture of more than $17 million in illegal drug money and assets; and collected more than $125 million owed to the United States. Additionally, he organized and led task forces to address health care fraud, insurance and financial fraud, bankruptcy fraud and environmental compliance.

A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis , Crites is a retired Captain in the United States Naval Reserve where he served as the Commanding Officer of nine Naval Reserve Units. He studied at the Naval War College , National War College and Industrial Colleges of the Armed Forces. He also served as Deputy Commander for Mission Effectiveness, Naval Reserve Readiness Command Region 8. At his career peak, he was responsible for helping oversee more than 7,300 personnel.

Crites was appointed in 1986 to serve as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio by then-President Ronald Reagan, a position he held until 1993. In this role he was responsible for all federal law enforcement in 48 of 88 Ohio counties. A decorated U.S. Navy Captain, Crites was inducted into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame and is a veteran of the Vietnam War. For more information visit www.CritesForOhio.com.